the grassroot magazine august 2014
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Contents
Grassroot Media Contacts Twitter @grassrootmedia Facebook.com/grassrootmedia
Office telephone number 0800 8 20 21 22 or 01992 27 44 27
Mathew Court’s email address [email protected]
No part of this magazine may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted without permission.
5 MD’s Letter
7 The Save Grassroots Campaign
We talk to David Crausby MP
about the campaign
20 Sports First Aid
Common Cricket injuries - part
two
26 Cricket Coaching With Andrew
Beaven
Over rates and how to increase
them
30 Grassroots Cricket News
Harold Wood Cricket Club tell us
about their recent 24 hour net
marathon
34 Earn Money For Your Club With
The Cricket Paper
Earn commission on
subscriptions
37 The Grassroots Groundsman
3G or not to 3G, that is the
question. And what to do on your
cricket square this month of
course
42 Colin Smith
Elvis has left the building, not
before raising over a grand for
charity!
47 The Secret Non-League
Footballer
TSFNL’s tips for the coming
season
51 Club Security
An idea to secure players
valuables in changing rooms
while they are playing
54 Twitter Directory
55 Blockshop
56 Sponsor A Local Club
Hello and welcome to August’s magazine.
It’s hot out there isn’t it? I hope your water bills aren’t too high with all the
sprinklers that will be on around the country right now, although if they
are then have another look at Colin Smith’s article last month on rain
water harvesting. It’s something I’m going to look in to in a bit more detail
in advance of the autumn.
We’ve also got the chance to heat things up a bit down in Westminster,
you’ll find out more when you get to page seven but I really think the Save
Grassroots campaign is a chance to get our politicians listening to US for
a change. I travelled up to Bolton and had a good chat with the head of the
campaign, David Crausby MP.
The chat gave me an idea that we could run with: an equipment exchange
between us all. So, if you’ve got any grounds, club or personal equipment,
anything from boots to bats to pads to mower spare parts to goals then let
me know and I’ll start a section in here advertising them.
For those of you that are football clubs, good luck for the start of your
season, I hope the hard work you’ve put in over the summer is paying off,
and for the cricket clubs remember it’s always about how you finish the
season!
I hope you enjoy this month’s magazine.
Mat Court 5
The MD’s
Letter
If you would like to find out more about what we do at
Grassroot Media:
Go to our website www.grassrootmedia.com
Call 0800 8 20 21 22 or 01992 27 44 27
Email [email protected]
Be part of the team...
We make money for football and cricket clubs
by putting frames up in changing rooms, selling
the space and then paying a rent for you letting
us do it.
It is easy, does not cost the clubs a penny and
all you have to do is take a photo each month
of the posters once you’ve changed them (we
send them out in the post to you).
Some of you may be aware of the ‘Save Grassroots’ campaign, others may not. We
caught up with the man heading it up, a politician!
David Crausby - An
MP Campaigning For
Grassroots Football
The ‘Save Grassroots’ campaign
was originally launched over a
year ago by the man we’re talking
to today, and Kenny Saunders who
runs a junior football club in
Liverpool.
They saw the vast amount of money
being given to the Premier and the
disparity between the elite game
and the grassroots of the sport,
especially the youth element of
football.
So between them they started a
petition with a view to getting the
100,000 signatures such a thing
needs to trigger a debate about the
subject in parliament. It didn’t
make the 100k but nevertheless
Crausby was able to secure a
debate anyway and the decision
was taken to relaunch the
campaign in the run up to the
general election next year.
The new campaign is already up to
7,500 signatures but there’s a long
way to go to 100,000.
I caught up with David Crausby MP
in his constituency office in Bolton
to find out why we should all get on
board and sign the petition (which
by the way you can access here:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/peti
tions/66835)...
An MP trying to ‘save grassroots’ 7
MAT COURT: What’s your personal
background with regards to
grassroots sports and grassroots
football in particular?
DAVID CRAUSBY MP: I’ve had a
long-term interest in football and
have been a fan for as long as I can
remember. I played amateur
football as a youngster and simply
love the game.
I’ve seen in recent years so many
football pitches lost to
development and removed, schools
under pressure, and I just think it’s
sad to see the grassroots game go
down.
Kenny Saunders, who runs kids
football teams in Liverpool,
approached me because he knew I
had an interest in grassroots
football; he made the point that
every Saturday morning they are
putting on football in Liverpool and
scouts from the big professional
clubs come down to try to watch
every kid in Liverpool every
opportunity they get. Then they
pick out the cream and then forget
the rest.
“...they take the cream
away and treat them
well but the rest have to
carry on getting
changed outdoors...”
They take the cream away and treat
them very well, they give them
very good facilities, great coaching
but the rest of the kids have to
carry on getting changed outdoors
next to the pitch because they
haven’t got any usable changing
rooms and showers. That just
doesn’t seem right to me,
especially off the back of the fact
that the Premier League are in the
process of negotiating what
amounts to a £5bn deal over three
years. So it’s gone from there really.
“...I see how keen kids
are...I see how good the
people are that put on
football...”
I have a grandson who plays
grassroots football so I’ll go and
watch him and his team. I see how
keen they are. I see how good the
people are that put the football on
and run the game, for nothing, just
because they believe in the game
in the same way that I do and I just
think they need some help and
support as they are not getting it
from local authorities anymore. I
understand why they are not
getting that local authority support
anymore; our own local authority
has to save £60m over the next
couple of years out an effective
available budget of about £150m
8
when you take out statutory
requirements such as schools and
other core services. Out of this
£150m, over £100m of it is to look
after vulnerable children and
adults and obviously no one wants
to cut these, so the cuts have to
come from everywhere else. So we
can see why the support from local
authorities for grassroots football is
lower than it used to be, and
although they’ve not been perfect
over the years we can’t blame them
for where we are.
That said, they’ve let go of too
many pitches across the country to
developers and not replaced them
with artificial pitches elsewhere
which would make a big
difference.
So you think artificial pitches are
the solution?
“...Artificial pitches cost
a lot of money and this
money isn’t coming
from anywhere
quickly...”
I think the great thing about
artificial pitches is they can get
fully used to a high capacity. They
are not as good as the old grass
pitches in terms of play and feel,
there’s nothing better, it’s a proper
football pitch, but I think the reality
is that if you want to allow lots of
people to play football then
artificial pitches are a big part of
the answer.
The downside is they cost quite a
bit of money and this money isn’t
coming from anywhere quickly. But
then you look around and see the
£5bn deal with the Premier League.
I’m not arguing for them for the
reason of the national team
performing better [Germany
reportedly has ten times the amount
of artificial pitches than the UK]. This
is not why I think children should
be playing grassroots football, but
if we do have more kids playing
football we will have a better
national team, but as I said that’s
not the reason I want better and
more facilities.
“...Everybody has the
fundamental right to
play football...”
I’m not in the business of finding all
of the really good footballers then
creaming them off and then
forgetting about the rest. I think
that everybody, especially
children, should have the right to
play football. A fundamental right,
9
and our government should in
some way deliver it.
What governments does is take
money from one group of people to
give to other people, that’s it’s
operation, it takes it from me and
you in taxes to give to other people.
So why don’t we take it from the
Premier League?
Now, I’m absolutely delighted that
Harriet Harman has picked up on
my idea today where the Labour
party has come out with a policy
where they will take money and put
it in to the game. I don’t think they
are thinking about taking enough
though.
“...the Premier League
said it would give 5% of
its TV money, but it
doesn’t deliver...”
The Premier League said it would
give 5% of its TV rights money but
it doesn’t deliver.
They never met their 5%
commitment and even when they
did make their version of 5% it
wasn’t entirely spent on the
grassroots, some of it went to the
semi-professional game. Anything
going in to football is good but I
just think true grassroots football,
and the kids that don’t play football
very well, are a completely
different thing but massively
important, not just to the kids
themselves but to society because
it does so much good.
You mention a distinction between
grassroots and semi-pro’ everyone
seems to have different ideas on
what ‘grassroots’ is. I work in a
company that has grassroot in its
name but even I’m not sure as to
what my definition of it is. What’s
your definition of grassroots?
My view of it is based around this
principle of every child should
have the right to play. If they want
to play, they should be able to.
I think that’s the real grassroots,
everybody playing, not just the
more talented ones. I want children
of every ability level to be able to
play football, and enjoy it, and get
fitter through it.
So I see that as the real grassroots. I
think other people might see the
grassroots as the more talented
grassroots that could be a benefit
to professional clubs and England
team, and I don’t decry that
because it would be nice if we
could win the World Cup, and
there’s no reason why we can’t, but
that’s not my version of grassroots.
10
I think how your elite teams
perform are just an indicator of the
whole sport in general.
Yes. I also hear this argument that
it’s also the fault of the foreign
players that have come in. It might
be a bit but even with all of those
foreign players in the Premier
League, we still have the
Championship which is as good, or
even better, league than they have
in a lot of the countries that we are
competing against.
If the Championship and Leagues 1
& 2 were full of good quality
English players it wouldn’t matter
that there were no English players
in the Premier League as we’d still
have a good pool of players to pick
from.
One of the things I’ve been saying
is that it’s hard enough to get the
kids off the couch from the X-Box
on to the real thing. There is much
more to distract kids these days so
what we have to do is provide them
with absolutely excellent facilities
and we will get them off the couch,
and that just seems to me a really
good thing to do regardless of
whether we get a better national
side out of it or not. It’s a good thing
for society to do.
When you talk to people that run
kids football clubs they do it for
nothing, they do a fantastic job and
they’ll tell you all the time that it
brings down youth crime and all
sorts of beneficial things, they get
misbehaving kids back on track,
they connect kids that don’t feel
connected and it makes them feel
special.
All through a little football club.
Now you’ve brought up the issue of
English players further down the
professional leagues I’ll ask you
about the FA. Obviously a big piece
of recent news has been the
proposal for the B Team league
which came out of Greg Dyke’s
England Commission, do you have
any thoughts on that.
I’ve got an interest in it, and have
an opinion on it but I don’t think it
will affect grassroots football. That
said it doesn’t seem to have been
met with much support.
It didn’t sound like a really bad
idea to me but the reality is that the
professional game is a very
different game to the amateur
game.
“...the Premier League
is there to make
money...”
11
The Premier League is there to
make money, and to a certain
extent so is the Championship; I
think the purpose of the
Championship is for clubs to get in
to the Premier League and then
make money. It’s all about cash.
With all due respect to the FA, in
my view, they are just a little bit too
close to the professional game.
Their responsibility is to the game
but I think they take far too much
notice of the Premier League and
other professional leagues which
effectively fund them who are
owned by billionaires from all over
the world and who might not have
the same interests in grassroots
football.
“...with all due respect
to the FA, in my view,
they are just a little bit
too close to the
professional game...”
Your campaign shouldn’t need to
happen should it? The money is
there in the FA isn’t it?
I met someone from the FA once
and we talked about this issue. His
line was “I think what you’re doing
is fantastic, we’d love to be able to
put more money in to grassroots
but we have to be careful about
what we say and do.”
“...the FA shouldn’t have
to be careful about what
they say and do, they
should represent the
game...”
They shouldn’t have to be careful
about what they say and do, they
should represent the game.
But in reality we live in a world that
is dominated by big money so
therefore we can see why they feel
they need to be careful.
But I don’t give a damn about
whether professional football gets
upset with me and that’s what I see
as a good politician’s role; I don’t
care where the money is, this is
what I think is right and wrong.
Politicians and the government
should intervene on these sorts of
things, but I don’t want government
to get
12
its hand on running the game,
mainly because we would make a
mess of it!
Politicians and government
organisations are not famous for
running the most efficient of
operations. But there are some
things we need to intervene on,
and of course some things
government needs to run, such as
the Police and the Army for
example, but we don’t want to run
football.
We should be looking to put other
people in the position of providing
football.
“...what I want from this
campaign is for the
money to go right down
to the grassroots...”
We’re good at taxation, that’s what
we do, that’s our job; we tax,
hopefully take it from the right
people and make sure it goes in
the right direction and then let
people who know what they are
doing get on with it. I don’t want to
run the game, I don’t want to be
hands-on in any way, what I want
out of this campaign is for the
money to go right down to those
grassroots. If that’s through the
Football Foundation fine, I think the
Football Foundation does a really
good job but I want to see the
money in the hands of those people
who turn out week in week out to
put football on.
I talked to a married couple who
come out every Saturday morning
to put football on. They run a
Saturday league for children. They
run their own club too. They are out
there in all weathers putting
football on. I’m not sure even they
know why they do it, but they do.
They operate a boot club because
some of the kids can’t afford their
own boots, the idea being that
when a kid grows out of their boots
they go to the club for children
with smaller feet to have them.
That’s a nice idea, I like it.
Yes it’s a good idea but I don’t
know about you, I never wanted to
wear anybody else’s boots. It’s an
absolute indictment of the game in
this wealthy country of our that
people have to do something like
this in order to stop kids playing
football in wellies. It’s shocking. But
they do it and I want to see the
money going right down to this
kind of club, these kinds of people.
These people and others like them
13
across the country have to pay for
their own training courses and I
want to see the money going right
to them. I don’t want to see this
money going to some corporation
and people in flashy offices, it
needs to go to the grassroots.
OK, let’s say the campaign is a
success, you’ve got 100,000
signatures. You then take it to
parliament. It then gets enacted
and 5% of the £5bn Premier
League TV money, £375m, is
allocated to the grassroots game.
How does that then get distributed
and to whom?
There are 650 parliamentary
constituencies in this country,
about £1/2m per constituency.
“...in a town like Bolton
it would be worth
£1.5m...”
In a town like Bolton with three
constituencies within it, that’s about
£1.5m. Not an absolute fortune but
it would make such a difference to
those clubs. Now I would allocate it
locally through the local leagues
who would then have the power to
pass it on properly where it needs
to go, to clubs. The allocation of
money in this kind of way is always
very difficult and needs to be
studied very carefully as some
people will try and run off with it.
But in the main the vast majority of
volunteers out there won’t run off
with it, instead they will spend it
very, very wisely.
We would have to keep an eye on it
but not such a close eye that it costs
more money to police than what
you are distributing.
I saw a recent case where a couple
were prosecuted for taking a grant
meant for their football club and
then spent it on themselves, I think
they were locked up because of it,
but I believe they were found out
because of other members or
people associated with the club
thought something was up. So I
think publicising what each club
has been allocated would make it
self-policing, if the money isn’t
being spent where it should be
then other club member will have
something to say about it.
Yes, if we knew there was £1.5m
available for grassroots football
that has been put in the hands of
the local Bolton leagues we would
be able to tell very easily whether
it’s been spent on the right things
or not. But equally we don’t want to
be telling people what they should
be spending it on as long as it
benefits grassroots.
14
Going back to government, how
has the campaign been received in
Westminster?
The response I’ve had from the
present government has not been
fantastic, they’ve been very
defensive. When the original
petition hit 10,000 we are meant to
get a reply, and we got a reply at
about 20,000 as they seemed very
reluctant to answer. So I put down a
number of written questions
followed by an oral question which
going to be along the lines of “you
lot haven’t bloody answered” when
surprise surprise at midnight the
night before my oral question in
the House was going to be asked I
received an answer to the written
questions. Just a coincidence. But I
got an answer regardless and the
answer was effectively saying the
Football Foundation is doing ok,
they put money in to the game and
so on and that my campaign is not
necessary.
“...the response from
the current government
has not been fantastic...”
I’m not saying the Football
Foundation is not doing something,
what they do is very valuable but I
don’t think it’s enough. The Premier
League promised 5% and they’ve
never delivered so we need
government to lean on them and
say either you do it or we make you
do it.
I’d much rather they volunteered to
do it, I don’t want the Inland
Revenue to have to get involved as
they’d likely miss half of it and will
cost more to collect.
“...it’s in the interest of
professional football to
do this...”
At the end of the day it’s in the
absolute interest of professional
football to do this. As I say, that’s
not my motivation for this but the
spin-off to them is enormous from
what they will gain. There’ll be no
need to buy the Carlos Tevez’s of
this world and other multi-
millionaire footballs if there are
more playing at grassroots.
David Crausby MP (right) with
Kenny Saunders
15
What’s the worst-case scenario if
you don’t get 100,000 signatures?
Well, last time we didn’t get
100,000 signatures but the petition
won’t do anything itself, it’s an
awareness tool and I think what the
last petition and this petition have
achieved is making people aware
of the issue.
When you talk to people about it
they say, as you have this afternoon,
that you agree, it’s difficult to argue
against and that eventually that
gets through to politicians and
leadership of political parties.
“...clearly Labour has
picked up my idea and
noticed it...it can
become law...”
Clearly the Labour party
leadership have picked up my idea
and noticed it, and eventually if we
put enough pressure on it will
become law. Last time if it had got
to 100,000 I would have got an
automatic debate on it in
Parliament. I applied for one
anyway and got one, so I did a half
hour adjournment debate, and I’ll
just keep going with that. I’ll just
keep going and we’ll just keep
flagging it up.
It’s good that Labour is now at least
consulting on adopting it as policy,
I’ll contribute to the consultation
trying to persuade other people to
get in there. I’ll put down an early
day motion and get lots of
signatures and that makes
politicians aware. What politicians
are aware of most of all is most and
they think people are going to vote
for something they’ll get behind it.
There must be over a million
people in the UK playing football,
that’s a lot of votes.
Yes, and if you say to them here’s a
choice of Premier League clubs
paying a player £1/4m a week or
some goals for a grassroots club,
it’s a no-brainer. And it’s not just
about kids. I’ve targeted it mainly
at kids but it’s not just about kids.
One mother said to me she had two
sons and they were quite good
footballers and were taken on my
Manchester United when they were
13 or 14 years old. When they were
17 they were told they weren’t big
enough or strong enough, that they
weren’t going to develop so the
club let them go. They haven’t
played football since because in
their area there are no pitches.
They went from absolute football
luxury to not being able to play, so
there is that element as well.
16
I’ve read a lot about the
psychology of losing that chance of
playing pro. If I remember right
over 90% kids that go in to a
professional academy don’t get a
senior contract. And I’d imagine a
massive chunk of those don’t play
again because they lost their
dream.
The worrying aspect is clubs like
Manchester City who are
developing a fantastic set up
around the club but bringing kids
in from around the world at a young
age, which is not exactly in the
kids’ best interest is it? It seems to
me that bringing a child in from
Brazil at 14, no matter how much
they are looked after they’d still be
better off at home.
If George Best had stayed at home
he’d have been in a better position
with his family there.
“...clubs should be
training local
footballers, but if they
are not there then they
are not there to train...”
Clubs should be training local
footballers, but if they are not there
to train because they haven’t
played football then they are not
there are they.
Aside from money, what are some
of the issues facing grassroots
clubs?
I think land is an issue, and the
value of it. There’s an increasing
pressure on land particularly within
cities and I think the government
should intervene on that. It’s just
too easy to say there’s a shortage of
housing and we need to put some
houses on any green spaces in a
city as we don’t want to put them in
the green belt.
I think green land in the cities is as
important as it is in the green belt,
in some respects more so. So land
is very important.
We’ve got nearly 300 clubs as part
of our network, is there anything off
the top of your head that you think
our clubs could do for you?
Sign the petition. Get their families
to sign the petition. Get their
players to sign the petition. Keep
up the campaign. I’ll keep talking
about it in the press and in
parliament but you can’t really
keep repeating yourself saying the
same thing.
We know that in the media you
need a hook to hang things on and
17
we just need to keep finding things
to hang this issue on so that it’s on
the front page of all the political
leaderships going in to the next
election, and we should be
challenging them on what their
policy is regarding this leading up
to the election.
A note from Mat...
I enjoyed my talk with Mr Crausby
more than I thought I would; I
usually don’t have much time for
politicians (and never really
wanted to meet one) but the
passion he has for this campaign is
infectious. If I hadn’t already
signed the petition I would have
done it there and then. But he can’t
talk to every single person to
persuade them. We can... OK,
maybe not personally, but we can
help the campaign by not only
signing it ourselves but
transmitting the message through
the multitude of communication
routes we have available to us now.
We’ve never been as connected as
we are today through text
messaging, emails, Twitter,
Facebook, our own club websites
and anything else that makes it
easier for us to talk to each other.
Equally, as a society, we’ve never
been as disenfranchised with
politics as we are right now, I think
mainly because we feel as though
decisions are taken that we don’t
agree with or feel aren’t
democratic. We live in the world’s
oldest democracy but it doesn’t
feel like it sometimes, whatever
your political leanings.
I think this is a chance for
democracy to show it means
business again and show the
politicians what we think they
should be doing. If enough of us
get behind it they will because
come May next year they will all be
fighting for their political lives
canvassing our votes. Wouldn’t it
be great if all the main parties said
“yep, we’ll do this”, they might
even start listening to us on other
things!
This is a chance to actually change
the way the political parties look at
something so dear to a lot of our
hearts. A chance for us to actually
change something.
And all we have to do is take a few
seconds to sign this petition:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/peti
tions/66835
Or retweet something from the
@savegrassroots Twitter account.
Or put a news story up on our
club’s website. Or a poster in the
club window. We can make a
difference on this one...
18
Sports
First Aid
Common Cricket Injuries -
Part Two In the second part of this article on
the causes, treatment and
prevention of four of the most
common injuries in club cricket,
the focus is on finger and shoulder
injuries.
Finger Injuries
A cricketers fingers are
particularly vulnerable to injuries
such as broken bones and
dislocations, sprains and strains to
the finger joints. These injuries
usually result from being hit by the
cricket ball.
Mallet Finger
Mallet finger is a common injury in
cricket caused by the ball hitting
the tip of the finger. The end of the
finger is bent forward by the force
causing it to hyper-flex resulting in
a rupture of the tendon that
straightens the end joint (known as
the distal joint).
In addition to the symptoms of pain
and swelling of the affected joint,
when a mallet finger injury occurs
the tip of the finger will be remain
in a downward bent position and it
won’t be possible to straighten it.
Treatment for a Mallet Finger
Injury
It is not recommended that a mallet
finger injury is treated at home, so
(as with all of the types of finger
injuries outlined in this article) it’s
Sophie Hoskins from Physical Sports First Aid continues her column on Sports First
Aid. See more at www.physical-sports.co.uk
20
always necessary to seek medical
attention. Delaying a visit to a
doctor for any of these injuries
could make the treatment more
difficult and may lead to delayed
recovery or permanent stiffness
and loss of mobility in the injured
finger joint.
“...delaying treatment
may lead to permanent
loss of mobility in the
joint...”
Treatment for a mallet finger injury
will usually involve the splinting
the finger in a straight position for
up to two months using a specially
designed mallet finger splint.
Keeping the finger in this position
allows the tendon insertion to
reattach to the bone. Once the
splint is removed the treatment will
focus on exercises and therapy to
straighten the finger and improve
mobility.
Finger Joint Dislocation
It’s relatively common for
cricketers to sustain a dislocated
finger and this type of injury
normally happens as a result of the
cricket ball striking the end of the
finger. A joint dislocation is when a
bone in the finger is moved
(dislocated) from its socket causing
damage to the tissue around the
joint.
“...it’s usually obvious
when a finger has been
dislocated as it won’t be
in a normal position...”
It’s usually obvious when a finger
has been dislocated as it won’t be
in a normal anatomical position: it
may be bent at a strange angle or
deformed.
Common symptoms are intense
pain, swelling and a loss of function
in the finger.
In severe cases symptoms may
include tingling or numbness, or a
break in the skin where the
dislocation has occurred. In these
cases the injured person should
visit an emergency department as
soon as possible.
Treatment of Finger Joint
Dislocation
The swelling can be reduced
immediately using an ice pack and
by raising the injured hand above
the level of the heart. It’s important
to seek medical attention for a full
diagnosis and correct treatment of
21
this injury.
The doctor will need to correct the
position of the finger be realigning
the dislocated bones. The PRICE
protocol should be followed for the
first few days after the injury. A
splint, or buddy taping, will be
used to support and protect the
injured finger for 3-6 weeks. To
help to reduce the chance of
decreased mobility in the finger it’s
important to carry out any
exercises recommended by the
doctor or physiotherapist.
Finger Sprain (Volar Plate
Injury)
The most common cause of finger
sprains in cricket is when the
finger is forced to hyperextend
backwards while catching the ball.
The middle joint of the finger
(known as the PIP joint) is most
frequently sprained and this occurs
when the volar plate ligament that
keeps the joint in a normal stable
position is damaged by the force of
hyper-extension. This type of injury
may also include an avulsion
fracture where a fragment of bone
is torn off at the ligament when the
injury occurs.
The symptoms of a sprain are pain
and stiffness in the finger joint with
a degree of swelling and in some
cases bruising. The amount of
swelling is usually an indication of
how severe the injury is.
Treatment for Finger Sprains
To treat this type of injury
immediately follow the PRICE
protocol. As soon as possible the
injury should be assessed by a
doctor who will decide on the
appropriate course of treatment.
“... Cold therapy using
can help reduce
swelling and pain...”
Cold therapy using finger cold
packs and compressive bandaging
using cohesive bandage can help
to reduce the swelling and pain.
The joint may be rested and
supported using a splint in the
initial phase of recovery, however,
with this type of sprain it’s
important to move the joint quickly
after the period of immobilisation.
Specific exercises for keeping the
joint flexible will normally be
recommended as part of the course
of treatment. Buddy taping may
also be recommended by the
physiotherapist/doctor as it is a
good way of protecting the finger
while allowing a normal range of
movement.
22
Causes of shoulder injuries in
cricket
Shoulder injuries are common in
cricket due to the repeated action
of bowling the ball and throwing
and catching the ball while
fielding. The most common
shoulder injuries are those which
affect the rotator cuff because the
arm is repeatedly extended up
over the head.
“... The rotator cuff is a
group of muscles and
their tendons that attach
to the bones of the
shoulder...”
The rotator cuff is a group of
muscles and their tendons that
attach to the bones of the shoulder
joint, enabling movement in the
shoulder and keeping the joint
stable.
Rotator cuff tendonitis occurs when
the tendons in the rotator cuff
become irritated and swollen and
this condition usually develops
over time due to ‘wear and tear’ or
repeated micro-trauma to the
tendon. One of the rotator cuff
tendons can also partially or fully
tear from overuse or from sudden
trauma, such as falling with the arm
overhead.
Symptoms of rotator cuff injuries
commonly include pain in the
shoulder which may spread as far
as the elbow and across the upper
back, swelling of the shoulder area
and restricted movement of the
arm; the pain will often worsen
when the arm is raised or when
lying on the affected side.
“...full diagnosis of a
rotator cuff injury
should be carried out
by a doctor...”
The full diagnosis of a rotator cuff
injury should be carried out by a
doctor and may include the
examination of the shoulder joint
using one or more of the following
tests: X-ray, MRI scan or ultrasound
scan.
Treating rotator cuff injuries
The first phase of treatment for
rotator cuff injury is normally the
same as for other soft tissue
injuries; rest the shoulder and
avoid any activities that worsen the
symptoms and apply ice packs to
the shoulder 20 minutes at a time
up to every two hours during the
first few days.
Taking some anti-inflammatory
medication, such as ibuprofen, can
23
help to reduce the swelling and
pain.
The shoulder should be rested until
it has started to heal, but doing
gentle exercises as soon as it is
comfortable enough to do so can
help to reduce stiffness in the
shoulder.
“...the GP may
recommend
physiotherapy treatment
to build strength around
the joint...”
The GP may recommend
physiotherapy treatment to
gradually build strength around the
joint and increase flexibility and
movement. It may be necessary to
wear a sling or shoulder support,
or to have the shoulder taped by a
physiotherapist.
In severe cases where a tendon has
been torn, or symptoms are
persistent, the GP may recommend
steroid injections, to reduce the
swelling, or surgery, to repair the
tear in the tendon.
Preventing shoulder injuries
One of the most effective ways to
prevent shoulder rotator cuff
injuries is to ensure that correct
form and technique is consistently
used during matches and training.
Following an exercise programme
leading up to and throughout the
season which includes exercises
for the whole shoulder complex
can also help to improve the
stability of the rotator cuff and
reduce the risk of injury to the
tendons.
The programme should include
exercises to build strength of the
muscles surrounding the shoulder
joint and stretches to improve
flexibility.
It is important to gradually increase
the amount of competition and
training, in particular bowling and
fielding practice, so that the rotator
cuff muscles aren’t overloaded and
they have time to adapt to the
increase in workload.
It’s also important to rest properly
between matches and training
sessions.
“...It’s also important to
rest properly between
matches and training
sessions...”
24
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This month Andrew Beaven, Coach at Oakfield Parkonians Cricket Club in
Barkingside, Essex gives us his thoughts on over rates!
Andrew
Beaven Over Rates...Get On With It!
All too often, as the over rate drops
and the game drags, you will hear
this cry from the stands, or the lone
fielder stationed out on the
boundary.
England bowled their overs so
slowly in the first Test against Sri
Lanka that they probably missed
the chance to start the summer with
a win.
“...England bowled
their overs so slowly in
the first Test against Sri
Lanka that they
probably missed the
chance of a win...”
Young players (and not-so-young
players, brought up on 40- and 50-
over cricket), get bored when a
time game meanders along. So too
do more experienced "time"
cricketers...but we have the
responsibility to do something
about this!
I have railed against slow over-
rates before, without ever setting
out what I thought needed to be
done. Shouting "get on with it",
whilst heart-felt, doesn't actually
help!
Fines for slow rates, or penalty
runs, can really only be applied
when the game is run by
independent match officials.
So - what can be done by the
players to speed up the game?
26
You could try running into fielding
position between deliveries and
overs, but I find this a little artificial,
and ineffective, especially when
one player (often the bowler, or the
captain) doesn't keep up with the
rest of the team. This just leads to
frustration for the batsmen, the
umpires, and the other fielders, as
they wait for the late-comer(s).
“...running between
overs can give the
impression of a rapid
over-rate, but there are
better, more reliable
methods...”
Running between overs can give
the impression of a rapid over-rate,
but there are better, more reliable
ways of keeping the game moving.
Between deliveries
1. Have the bowler get straight
back to his mark after he has
bowled. Don't let him stand at
the end of his follow-through,
waiting for the ball to be
returned - return the ball to the
bowler only when he is at least
half-way back to his mark.
2. Send the ball back around the
inner ring of fielders. Short,
under-arm throws, from hand to
hand, via the "designated
polisher" if you have one. There
is nothing more tedious (or time
wasting) than having to run to
retrieve a wayward throw. Make
it easy for your team mates!
3. As captain, you need to field
where you are close to his
bowler. Unless you are a
specialist slip catcher, get used
to fielding at mid-off or mid-on,
so you can talk to the bowler
between deliveries as he walks
back to his mark. No
conversations in mid-pitch,
please!
“...no conversations in
mid-pitch please...”
Between overs
1. Consider having a "mirror"
field. At the end of the over,
cover becomes mid-wicket,
mid-off goes to square leg, etc.
(and vice versa). We all notice
when someone has to run from
long-on to long-on between
overs, but how often do we still
see four or five players crossing
the pitch between overs? Save
the fielders' legs (and a few
minutes in every hour, waiting
for players to cross over). One
caveat - if you do have only one
27
fielder who can be relied on to
hold the skied catch at long-on,
then you will just have to wait for
him to get there. Keep your
specialists in position. And that
includes the captain himself.
2. Get the ball to your new mid-
off or mid-on immediately the
previous over finishes, and
deliver the ball to the bowler at
his mark. Have a fielder collect his
cap and sweater and take them to
the umpire. Don't watch the bowler
walk all the way in to the stumps,
have a chat with the umpire, then
amble back to his mark...
“...save two seconds on
each ball and you’ll fit in
at least and extra over
per hour...”
Save just 2 seconds on each ball, 12
seconds per over, and 10 seconds
between overs, and you will fit in
(at least) an extra over each hour -
you can do the maths!
Keep the game moving, and not
only will you bowl your overs
quicker, but you will make the
batsmen feel as if you want to get
on with the game, and get them
out.
Get on with it!
Looking for:
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One of our member clubs, Harold Wood Cricket Club in Essex, recently completed
a 24 hour fundraising cricket net marathon! Read all about it here...
Grassroots
Cricket News
A group of cricketers from Harold
Wood CC successfully completed a
gruelling 24-hour net at the club
from 8pm on Thursday 10th July to
8pm on Friday 11th July.
The reason for this challenge was
to raise funds for new nets at the
club and improve the now ancient
practice facilities, which have been
at the club for several decades.
The group of 14 started out
hopefully on a glorious Thursday
evening, but come the small hours
the group had to deal with heavy
30
rainfall and that along with the
tough challenge it took its toll.
“...the boys started
brightly and people
were really bending
their backs...”
Tom Clarke Harold Wood CC
Chairman, “It was a really tough
task, the boys started off very
brightly and people were really
trying to bend their back at the
start, but as the hours ticked by so
did the enthusiasm wane. We must
say a big thank you to everyone
who came to support and helped
keep our spirits up by bringing
refreshments and even just
dropping in to say well done.”
“Of course we must also thank
everyone who has donated some
money to the cause, the club is
lucky to be in a beautiful park with
a clubhouse which is only 5 years
old, but the nets really let us down
at the moment and with all the
different teams we have, including
boys, girls, adult men and women
and also our disabled side, new
nets will really make the park a
great place to play cricket for the
entire community.”
The club’s new nets are estimated
to cost approximately £30,000 with
the club looking to raise at least
15% of that money themselves.
If you would like to donate to the
cause then you can do so by going
to
www.justgiving.com/teams/hwcc2
4 or you can text HWCC £2/£5/£10
to 70070
31
32
We chat with Neil Wooding, Trade Marketing Manager of Greenways
Publishing, the company behind The Cricket Paper
Earn Money For Your
Club With
The Cricket Paper
As many of you will be aware April
saw us bring on board The Cricket
Paper as our newest changing room
poster advertiser. The deal is a nice
one as it not only brings money in
to your clubs through the poster
advertising, but the campaign itself
is all about giving clubs the chance
to make more money through The
Cricket Paper’s new club affiliate
scheme so it fits nicely with what
Grassroot Media is all about.
I sat down for a chat with Neil
Wooding from The Cricket Paper to
let him explain how the affiliate
scheme works and how it can make
your club money...
So, what’s it all about?
We recognise that grassroots
cricket club players, members and
supporters are our readers and
wanted to give something back to
them in return for helping us grow
our readership.
We wanted to do something new
and we’re not aware of any other
publication trying to work with
sports clubs in the way we’ve come
up with.
Can you give us a little background
on The Cricket Paper in case our
readers aren’t familiar with it?
The Cricket Paper is the UK’s
number one selling cricket title. It’s
all about covering cricket matches
from around the world in unique
depth. We cater for all cricket
lovers, featuring more than 60
match reports in each weekly issue
as well as round-ups from all 26
ECB county leagues and feature-
led interviews.
How does the affiliate scheme
work?
We are giving clubs the chance to
earn a commission on all
subscriptions with The Cricket
Paper .
34
website, you can then start
promoting to your members and
supporters straight away and begin
earning a minimum of 10%
commission on all referred
subscriptions. Commission
increases to 15% on five or more
subscription orders per month.
Do you offer any help to clubs in
terms of them promoting or
marketing the opportunity?
As well as investing in the
changing room posters we are also
keen to help you as much as
possible. As I mentioned
previously, we have the web
banners & adverts that clubs can
place on their websites, and we
have also made posters and flyers
available for clubs to download
and print off, just click here: A3
Poster & A5 Flyer.
And of course if you’ve got any
other questions at all on the
scheme then feel free to get in
touch with us directly by emailing: [email protected]
If our football clubs are feeling a
little left out have you got anything
for them too?
Yes - we have,. Our three football
titles (as well as our other sports
publications) will be running
similar schemes soon. You can
keep to date on the progress of the
other titles’ schemes if you follow
@GreenwaysP on Twitter.
We’ve tried to make it as simple as
possible – either download our
manual order form or process
orders on-line via Affiliate Future.
To do it manually ‘offline’,
download our form here. You can
then collect orders and payments
from individuals, deduct your club
commission and return the form to
us, along with a cheque made
payable to The Cricket Paper Ltd,
to the address provided on the
form. The same commission rates
apply whether you do it manually
or via your website.
To run the scheme on line follow
these three simple steps: :
1. Sign up for a free Affiliate
Future Account: here
http://www.affiliatefuture.co.uk/
registration/affiliates.asp
2. Visit The Cricket Paper’s
Affiliate programme either by
finding us in the Affiliate Future
Merchant Directory or by
clicking here:
http://afuk.affiliate.affiliatefutur
e.co.uk/merchants/AddProgra
mme.aspx?id=6278
3. Then click on “Get Link” and
choose website banner/s to
embed on your website.
Once the banners are live on your
35
Call:
01727 809867
Follow:
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Sports Injury Specialists
Highly qualified sports injury
professionals dedicated to injury
treatment and recovery
Our services include:
Injury Clinic
Sports Massage
Fitness Training
Sports Team Cover
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Ian Avery gives us his thoughts on artificial football pitches and tells us
what we need to be doing on our cricket squares this month.
The Grassroots
Groundsman
Artificial Pitches = All Weather
Pitches? Not Really...
Football
Having just hosted a IOG course on
artificial pitch maintenance I
thought I’d talk about the use of
artificial pitches in sport,
especially football as Maidstone
United have their ground just a few
miles from me. As you go past you
can see the pitch in use every
evening, something which is
impossible with natural turf during
the winter.
This obviously is a great funding
stream for a local town club from
hire and bar takings and the
playing characteristics stay the
same. However, there are
drawbacks and many in sport
believe (wrongly) that artificial
pitches are all-weather and non-
maintenance; nothing could be
further from the truth.
To maintain a 3G pitch in tip top
condition one hour of maintenance
for every 10 hours of use is
needed. These pitches rely on a
rubber crumb to keep the
filaments upright and reduce
possible damage and this infill gets
moved around during usage and
needs brushing back into position,
especially around the goal mouths.
As usage continues the infill
becomes contaminated from such
things as leaf rubbish dust and, yes,
blood & skin. This needs to be
removed with specialist equipment
and the infill replaced in situ.
37
There also needs to be strict
control on footwear. Not long ago
we had footballers wearing boots
on our hockey-only pitch - the risk
of damage not only to the pitch but
to the players’ ankles etc.
Therefore as a club making a big
decision on its pitch maintenance
needs to be implemented from day
one as does a system of control on
access and usage.
Also in some parts of this country
you will be closing the pitch at
times in the winter as snow and ice
cannot be cleared easily.
A frozen artificial pitch is
dangerous and the fibres become
very fragile.
“...a frozen artificial
pitch is dangerous...”
The other decision is how far up
the footballing ladder your club is
planning to go as only leagues
below the conference level
currently allow a home pitch that’s
not natural.
Premier league clubs in the main
have hybrid pitches which are
grass but have artificial fibres sown
into the root zone and as the fibres
are green give a natural green
tinge even in the middle of the
winter.
“...only after a few more
seasons will we know
the effect of 3G pitches
on player injury rates...”
Only after a few more seasons and
clubs laying 3G pitches will we
know if injuries increase or
decrease or just the nature of
injuries change so the long term
future of artificial pitches is
unknown.
However they will never disappear
even if they are just used as a great
training aid, and for hockey they
are the permanent way forward.
“...for hockey artificial
pitches are the
permanent way
forward...”
These pitches also have a finite life
span of around 10 to 15 years and
with a replacement carpet in the
region of £150,000 (new instillation
including lights of £600,000) you
need to keep the money rolling in
and maintain it properly. No
maintenance on a pitch could cut
the life span down to five years.
38
Cricket
Now with the season entering the
penultimate month the autumn
renovations are looming and you
need to sit down and programme
the work and ordering of materials.
I keep a diary of notes on each
pitch now is the time to look back
and recognise any issues also look
at your square, check levels etc.
If you have weeds and moss treat
now before the season ends also if
finance will stretch to it a low
nitrogen feed with seaweed extract
will give it a boost and help seed
germination after the repairs.
If you have high points then hire in
a spiker.
In the autumn use a hollow tine and
remove the cores, soak and then
roll this to be done before seeding
and spreading the top soil making
sure of the levels.
If you have recognised a major
issue then now is the time to plan a
way out of it if you have a problem
which you’re struggling with I’m
happy to advise on possible
solutions.
My email is
Looking for:
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Colin Smith from Elvington & Tilmanstone Colliery Welfare Cricket Club
continues his monthly column with more tips for our clubs.
Colin Smith
Elvis Raises £1,100 For The
Katie Piper Foundation And
Eythorne Rovers
I recently organized an Elvis
themed fund raising event at my
local club Tilmanstone Miners
Welfare Institute, based in Lower
Eythorne, near Dover in Kent. I am
proud to say my event was a
complete success and raised £900
for the Katie Piper Foundation, £200
for Eythorne Rovers Youth Football
and Activity Club and we took a
record bar take at the club. We
actually beat the previous record
bar take by £600, so yes we did
have a merry evening.
Raising funds for good causes can
be hard work but the rewards far
outweigh the stress involved in
putting on an event. My event was
seven months in the planning
starting with booking the venue,
organizing tickets and advertising
the event locally.
Talking of advertising I think our
MD at Grassroot Media, Mat Court,
knows a lot more about this than
me. My advertising consisted of
putting up three posters local
shops and at work. I ended up
selling out the venue with a week
to go. Just the 185 people attended
– scary I know.
[Advertising is all about results, and
that’s a great result so the
advertising must have been great!
Mat Court]
42
Here’s a top tip: set the ticket price
low. I charged just £5 for the Elvis
event which ultimately meant I
managed to have 185 people
attending.
“...top tip: set the ticket
price low...”
Now as all good fund raisers know,
once you have a crowd that is when
you can really make your money.
Not only via the bar takings but on
the raffle. Another top tip: have a
star prize and I would now go as far
as saying pay for it. I had a holiday
for two in September with flights
and 4 star accommodation as first
prize. I was lucky enough to have a
local business donate the money to
pay for this. This came to £400. This
enabled me to sell the raffle tickets
at £10 each for one number.
Another top tip: do not sell any
tickets before the night so all raffle
prizes are won on the night in the
room. This will help you sell them
as £10 is a considerable purchase
for one raffle ticket. My answer to
this is announce the raffle early and
explain that the first prize is not a
packet of biscuits – it is a holiday
for two and you could win it for a
tenner. A no brainer as they say.
Now some people still won’t have a
go – just move on. I sold 80 raffle
tickets on the night and had 22
donated prizes. The second prize
was a new mountain bike, the third
was a meal for two at the Abode
(Michael Caine’s restaurant).
“...with a raffle you must
have a star prize...”
So you do the math as they say,
donated prizes and £800 raffle
receipts alone. In hindsight and
next time I might try a £5 raffle and
see if I make more money, but you
must have that star prize i.e. the
holiday.
On the night my holiday was won
by a very kind man called Tony
Condon who donated the prize to a
family member called Mary and
her husband Terry. I booked the
holiday for them after the event
through onthebeach.co.uk, who I
can recommend, and I spoke to a
very helpful young lady called
Sophia.
Being a fellow fundrasier Sophia
gave me the best deal she could
including a room upgrade for Mary
and Terry for their chosen holiday
of 5 nights in Rome.
The reason Sophia gave me a good
deal was I sent her a signed copy
of Katie Piper’s book, Beautiful, for
a fundraiser she was organising in
43
her home town of Cheadle for
Cancer Research. See us
fundraisers have got to stick
together and help each other out.
Thanks Sophia.
As I have said previously a great
night was had by all. My work was
not however finished after the
night. I not only booked and paid
for the holiday for Mary and Terry
but I had to arrange for thank you
letters for all the raffle donations
and discounts I received along the
way.
This included companies such as
Balloonarama and Partyarama for
discounts on balloons, backdrops,
invitations etc. I also have to
deliver these letters from the Katie
Piper Foundation to the many
shops that donated prizes in the
nearby city of Canterbury.
This is all enjoyable work though
and the glow of the success of the
evening is still with me.
So go ahead organize an event but
remember these Top Tips:
• Give yourself enough time to sell
out the gig.
• Book a good popular act with a
local following.
• Book a local suitable venue with
a licensed bar.
• Theme your evening.
• Dress the venue accordingly.
• Ask for discounts for invitations,
balloons etc.
• Get a star raffle prize donated
and other good prizes ( not
biscuits).
• Only sell the raffle tickets on the
night for either a £5 or a £10 to
encourage people to buy.
• Announce on the night several
times the star prize which you
might win for a fiver and tell
them over and over it will be
somebody in the room.
• Have two sets or even two acts
and draw the raffle at half time
after the first set.
• Don’t stress on the night – ENJOY
IT YOURSELF.
If you follow these top tips you
cannot fail to have a great night of
fun and raise lots of money.
“Ladies and Gentlemen Elvis has left
the building.”
Colin Smith
44
45
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Key Signings Can Boost
Gateshead Promotion Push
Each month we print an article from the excellent Secret Footballer
website – you can see more at www.thesecretfootballer.com
After tipping Cambridge United as
the “dark horses” of the
Conference last season, I hope I’m
ideally placed to pick out the
teams to get promoted this season.
I have taken some time to look at
the clubs in the Conference and
how they have strengthened their
squads during the summer.
Each year, the league becomes
stronger and makes it even harder
to get out of.
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I still believe the rules for
automatic promotion should be
changed. It baffles me to as why
only one team can get promoted
automatically.
Yet, above in League 2, it is three
that go up with an extra team in the
play-offs. It doesn’t make sense.
This needs to change. Rant over …
on to my predictions.
I feel the two favourites for
promotion are Gateshead and
Forest Green Rovers.
With Gateshead’s dreadful start to
last season, if only Gary Mills had
been manager from the start of the
campaign. I’m sure, then, they
would have been close to
automatic promotion.
“...they went on a strong
run and reached the
play-off final at
Wembley...”
Nevertheless, they went on a strong
run and reached the play-off final
at Wembley, only to be defeated by
Cambridge.
With Gateshead making seven key
summer signings, I believe that
they will certainly challenge.
Looking at the signings that Mills
has made, the one that stands out
for me is Jon Shaw.
He scored 45 goals in two seasons
previously at the club before
moving on to Luton Town, where he
gained promotion to the Football
League.
The other stand-out player is Alex
Rodman. The winger was at
Grimsby Town last season but
turned down a new deal.
A friend of mine informed me that
Rodman had agreed a deal at
Scottish Championship side
Hibernian and had signed the
player’s agreement form only to
receive an email saying that he was
no longer wanted and would not be
joining the club.
I believe he is in talks with the club
over taking this to court as he is
legally allowed due to the
contractual agreement between the
club and player.
However, with his addition, I fancy
Gateshead to upset a few people
next season.
With Forest Green’s constant and
generous input of money from
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multimillionaire owner Dale Vince,
maybe this is third time lucky for
the Gloucestershire club.
“...maybe this is third
time lucky for the
Gloucestershire club...”
They certainly aren’t shy when it
comes to opening the cheque book
and recruiting players.
With the big budget that they have,
they have enticed a lot of big-name
players – Lee Hughes, Luke Rogers
and Jon Parkin, to name a few.
Manager Ady Pennock clearly is an
ambitious and loyal man after
opting to stick with Forest Green
when he was offered a job as a
coach at Crystal Palace, when his
pal Tony Pulis called him last year.
This demonstrates the vision that
he has for his club and players. He
has a huge playing budget but it
has been shown in the last two
years that money doesn’t
necessarily buy you success.
Forest Green struggled under
former boss Dave Hockaday but,
with some strong and influential
signings this summer, I predict that
they will ultimately be successful.
The team has a wealth of
experience and big names in the
dressing-room so I’m confident that
they will be up there.
“...my dark horse team
for next season is FC
Halifax Town...”
My dark horse team for next
season is FC Halifax Town. OK,
maybe they shouldn’t sneak into
the category of dark horses as they
reached the play-offs last season.
Nonetheless, they are a part-time
team who are still looking to
develop their squad and club after
re-entering the Conference in the
past few years.
With top scorer Lee Gregory
departing for Millwall, some may
say that Halifax will struggle after
losing the striker who notched 31
goals last season.
However, I firmly feel that Halifax
will continue to strengthen, with a
few astute signings from manager
Neil Aspin during the close-
season.
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After searching for a while I’ve found a company that offers not too expensive safes
- the idea is that safes inside changing rooms could prevent a lot of thefts.
Club Security
Players know they should take as
much care of their valuables as
possible, but sometimes people
forget leaving wallets and car keys
in trouser pockets, not locking the
changing room door, or leaving the
valuables bag near the pitch within
easy reach of passers by.
“...I’ve played in a few
games where things
have gone missing from
changing rooms...”
I've played in at least a few games
where people have had things
stolen from inside the changing
room and I reckon it's a common
occurrence across the country.
I've even read stories during 2014's
cricket pre-season of players
turning up for a trial, claiming to
have to leave early and then
making off with a player's car and
several wallets. While we can't do
much about that form of crime from
here at Grassroot Towers, we think
we have come up with something
that could help with the issue of
opportunistic thieves going in to
changing rooms while the game is
on looking for something that isn't
theirs... Safes...
“I’ve never seen a safe
at a club I’ve played at
and I wondered why...”
Has Your Club Been Victim Of
Valuables Theft?
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I've played at many football and
cricket clubs and never seen a safe
and I'm not sure why as it seems a
relatively simple thing to install to
prevent crime.
“...Maybe it's because
keys get lost, maybe it's
because it's expensive,
as I said I don't know. ...”
Maybe it's because keys get lost,
maybe it's because it's expensive,
as I said I don't know.
But, if it's the latter then I've found a
company that is willing to help
reduce the cost of small safes for
clubs to put up in their changing
rooms: Simply Safes (you've
guessed it, they specialise in safes).
They've got together a special deal
to get more safes inside club
changing rooms - and by the way
we aren't making any money out of
this, we're promoting them because
it's a good idea and I think it’s a
good deal that we have negotiated
for you.
Each month we'll be running an ad
for them, this month’s is on the next
page, so don't worry about keeping
hold of this so that you've got their
details.
From the research I've done it
seems as though the price is good
on what they are offering.
“...As with everything,
shop around, perhaps
on your local high
street, to compare
prices...”
But of course it’s always a good
idea to shop around, perhaps on
your local high street, to compare
prices.
They come with everything you
need to put them on the wall, the
only thing you'll have to worry
about is making sure the keys are
kept safe! (Although if you lose
them Simply Safes can supply
replacements on models).
Keep Safe...
Actually while I’ve got you, if you
are thinking of getting some safes
but don’t like these ones
advertised, whatever you do don’t
get a digital hotel-style safe, they
are incredibly easy to break in to;
I’ve done it. Ask me no questions
and I’ll tell you no lies...
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Worthing FC @worthing_fc
List your club’s Twitter account in here so everyone else can get following you. Only those clubs that are members of the network like yours are allowed on this list. To get listed just drop Mat a note at [email protected] or on Twitter @grassrootmedia Grassroot Media recommends: @birminghamfa @fvhtweets @sussexcountyfa @meadonscricket @4grants @chance2shine @vscricketsn
54
We’ve found out about a new entrant to the sun block market, called Block Shop –
and they’re keen to be stocked in your clubs – and you can make money out of it
Help players look after
their skin while making
money for your club
I came across a company called
Block Shop on LinkedIn – if you’re
not on LinkedIn I’d recommend it,
especially if you’re involved on the
coaching side of things, yes there’s
a lot of rubbish but every now and
then you see something that’s
incredibly useful. But I digress. I
ended up having a chat with a new
company called Block Shop about
their zinc sun block and whether
we could get it stocked in some of
our clubs. Well James was already
ahead of me and had already got
the product in a few cricket clubs
and the model was working well.
So I’ve agreed to promote the
product to you, our clubs.
Being mostly blokes we are mostly
pretty rubbish at remembering to
buy things, especially products like
sun block so I think that clubs
stocking this is very much making
the right product available to the
right people at the right time.
We all know the damage the sun
can do to our and our kids’ skin,
and it should work well being
stocked behind your bars or
elsewhere in your clubhouse; I
remember constantly having to
borrow other people’s when I’d
forgotten to pick some up on the
way to a match.
The deal for you guys is quite
simple, if you want to stock the
product, you buy it at £2.50 per tub
and then sell it to your players at
the RRP of £5.95, or whatever other
price you want.
You can see a bit more detail on the
page advert we’ve put in towards
the front of the magazine, but you
can always take a look at their
website here:
www.blockshop.co.uk or drop
James an email on
[email protected] or give
him a call on 07900338863. They
are also on Twitter @blockshop01
55
A quick update on an idea I’ve had to help you sell sponsorship and advertising in
your clubs to local firms. I’ve imaginatively called it ‘Sponsor A Local Club’...
Use grassrootmedia.com to
showcase your sponsorship
opportunities
Just another quick reminder on the
“Sponsor A Local Club” page on
the website we launched last
month.
We’ve got a few opportunities up
on there but space for plenty more.
What we’re trying to do is build up
a portfolio of sponsorable
opportunities that businesses can
have a look through and hopefully
find something they want to buy.
I’ve no idea if it’s going to work but
it feels like a good idea. I don’t
want Grassroot Media to make
anything out of it and all we’ll do is
effectively put the idea in the shop
window and then market the shop
window. You guys will still need to
talk directly with the companies
that show an interest but my plan is
that if we can get plenty of ideas on
there I can go to organisations such
as the Federation of Small
Businesses, the Chamber of
Commerce and other small
business organisations and try to
get them spreading the word
among their members.
So if you want to get your club
listed up on there just drop me a
line with what you want (try to keep
it as short/punchy as possible) and
one or two images and we’ll get
you listed. We’ll never charge for it
and will never look to take a cut of
anything you end up selling off the
back of it - that’s not what this is
about. Instead it’s about promoting
the fact that small businesses can
really benefit from getting involved
commercially with the one of the
most important hubs of their local
community, their sports clubs.
If you’ve got any
questions/comments/concerns
please give me a shout in the usual
way, you can see the page itself
here:
http://www.grassrootmedia.com/s
ponsor-a-local-club
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